A few weeks ago I had a client who was looking to buy a house in Atlanta. Our offer was 90% of the asking price. In response to the offer, the listing agent said that my client should be aware that houses in the subdivision are selling for no less than 97% of their asking price. My response was that since the house is already three months on the market and the seller is paying all this time utility bills and mortgage, it means that even if my client offered to buy the house for 97% of the asking price, the seller at this point in time will net way less than that, and the longer they hang on to this “97%” concept, more money they will be losing. To make a long story short, the appraisal came in for 197,000 (higher than the asking price), but my client got it for less than that and paid 94% of the asking price. So, even in 2015 the oldest rule in real estate applies, that no matter what a seller is asking for their house (based (or not) on their agent’s recommendation) and no matter what an appraisal says, a house is worth what a qualified buyer is willing to pay for it.
The Oldest Rule in Real Estate Still Applies in 2015
07 Wednesday Jan 2015